If you have even a small amount of table space in a warm area to dedicate, try planting a flat or two of seed mix. Grazing seed mixes can be purchased from http://www.turtlecafe.com and http://www.turtlestuff.com. Another good source of grazing mix that would be appropriate for your specific soil and climate would be to visit your local agricultural office or university extension. They often sell wildlife grazing plot mixes that are great for grazing species. These mixes may only be available during certain times of the year, or in certain quantities. Please reference the species included in the mix to make sure that they are appropriate for tortoises; one plant to avoid is alfalfa.

Natural Food Stores

An alternative source of plants such as broadleaf plantain, rose buds, nasturtium and others is to purchase them dried from a local natural food store. My local store carries all these things and more, and the plantain especially is a food source that is great for your grazers. I usually wet these items slightly, rather than fully soak them.

Gathering and Preparing Your Own

Another option is a good old Ronco Food Dehydrator. Mine is an invaluable tool. I dry my own weeds and grasses that I gather myself, along with certain flowers, which I like to give as a treat rather than fruits. It is also a great way to store leafy greens that have a tendency to come in amounts that a hatchling especially could never eat before they went bad. I dry the greens, crush them fine and then store them in a small container in the fridge. They keep for months this way. A grocery sack full of veggies can fit in a small Gladware container. After chopping hay slightly for large tortoises, finer for smaller torts or grinding it in a coffee grinder for hatchlings, sprinkle the leafy green mixture or weeds in with the hay and wet slightly to make it more palatable.

Supplementation of Vitamins and Minerals

Over supplementing can be very dangerous.  As long as you are providing a varied, natural based diet, I do not believe that supplements are necessary, with the exception of calcium, and that should be free choice and not forced.  There is more on calcium supplementation below.  

Balanced Nutrition and Vitamin A

Due to the fact that captive tortoises invariably receive a diet that is much less varied than they would potentially consume in the wild, it is important as part of a balanced nutritional program to augment the vitamin and mineral content of the overall diet.

Vitamin A supplements can kill. Vitamin A is a very, very important part of a healthy chelonian's diet, but it is also extremely easy to overdose. Veterinarians not trained to treat herps can often over diagnose avitaminosis A, and overdose vitamin A shots. Please make very sure that you have an experienced reptile veterinarian that understands both the dangers and the benefits of vitamin A. Please also do not use "Vitamin A Drops" sold in reptile supply stores. Rely on a varied diet, and a good quality multi-vitamin to provide the needed vitamin A.

The primary vitamin A source available to herbivorous tortoises is provitamin A carotenoids found in fruits and vegetables. The most usable form of provitamin A carotenoids is beta-carotene. Broad leaf plantain, Plantago major, is a great source of beta carotene.

Overdose can cause internal organ failure because this vitamin is fat soluble, stored primarily in the liver, and in many cases death can occur. An overdose of vitamin a may manifest itself as swollen eyes, skin will present as thin with severe cases the skin sloughing exposing rawness, sometimes ulceration, nails may fall off and in fatal cases the beak may also fall off before the death of the animal.

Calcium Supplements - What to use?

Many tortoises, such as the Sulcata, come from parts of the world where the soil itself is very rich in calcium. The plants that they graze on therefore also contain high levels. Wild tortoises have been observed eating rodent bones and even small, calcium rich pebbles to increase the intake of calcium in their diet.

It is very important for healthy bone and shell growth that the animal's calcium intake needs are met. The reason that we monitor both phosphorus intake and oxalic acid intake is that both compounds block the absorption of calcium.

There are a lot of calcium supplements available in the pet market. The most important rule of thumb - do not use supplements containing vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is absolutely important for chelonians, and all reptiles, to absorb calcium. However, overdoses of D3 result in mineralization of the soft tissues such as the liver. This can be fatal.

Tortoises should receive their needed levels of D3 through diet, exposure to natural sunlight, or UVB lighting. Please follow the manufacturers instructions when placing a light in the enclosure, and determine whether your tort is diurnal, nocturnal or crepuscular to calculate the hours of exposure needed. Very important: The amount of UV light that travels through glass or plastic is not sufficient to produce vitamin D3. The UV rays need to be uninterrupted.

The best form of calcium supplementation is either pure calcium carbonate (i.e. crushed coral) or cuttlebone, such as is offered in pet stores for pet birds. Powdered calcium carbonate can be added to food, as can ground cuttlebone. Cuttlebone, with the hard backing removed, can also be left in the enclosure. Sometimes tortoises will ignore the cuttlebone for extended periods of time, but do not remove it. Instinct often kicks in suddenly, prompting them to consume it when their bodies need it.  This is the method that I prefer.  

I know that all of this information can be very difficult for a new or prospective tortoise owner to take in all at once. Getting a tortoise is a lifetime and very detailed commitment. If at any time I can be of any help, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at kyryah@hotmail.com and I will do my best to assist you. The only stupid question is the one that you don't ask, and in the end, compromises the life and health of your tortoise.